Automatic controlling device for gas-stoves.



I @Tl/f No. 911,959. PATBNTED PEB. 9, 1909. W. B. SGHOFIBLD A M. P.OSBOURN. AUTOMATIC GONTAULLING DEVICE POR GAS srovs.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27,1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

,959. PATENTBD FEB. 6, 1906.

W. B. SGHOPIELD iz M. P. OSBOURN. AUTOMATIC GONTRULLING DEVICE FOR GASSTOVES.

`.APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27,1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Mh. 0 W i u Parana. onirica.

WILLIAM B. SCHOFIELI) AND MILLARD I. OSBOURN, lOF MERCHANTVILLE,

NE7 JERSEY. 'l

AUTOMATIC CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR GAS-STOVES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 6, 1906.

To LZZ whom 'it r11/Ly concern.

Be it known that we, WILLIAM B. Seno- FIELD and MILLARD I. OsBoURN, ofMerchantville, county of Camden, and State of New Jersey, have inventedan Improvement in Automatic Controlling Devices for Gas- Stoves, ofwhich the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to that form of automatic controlling devices forgas-stoves and the like in which a valve to .control the fuelsupply tothe burner is operated by a primary actuating device, such as a lever,actuated by a vessel placed upon the stove, whereby the placing of thevessel in position automatically turns on the gas to the burner, and theis automatically turned oil when the vessel is removed.

It is one of the objects of this invention to embody such automaticcontrolling devices in an attachment which may be conveniently appliedto any ordinary gas-stove without special fittings. In such devices theoperation of the primary actuating device turns on the full head of gasbut as less head is often desirable and necessary for proper cooking andeconomy means should be provided for regulating the iuelsupply at will7and for this purpose we employ an auxiliary handoperatedcontrolling-valve by which the fuelsupply may be regulated to suit therequirements oi' the cook without interfering with theautomatica]ly-controlled valve, and as it is desirable that the fullhead should always be turned on at iirst we provide means whereby theauxiliary hand-controlled controllingvalve will be automaticallyreturned to normal full position with reference to the main automaticvalve when that valve is opened or closed. The auxiliary valve whichcontrols the main valve is carried by the latter and moves with it, andif the auxiliary valve has been moved into an intermediate position toreduce the flow of fuel the automatic valve in returning to either openor closed position will move the auxiliary valve back only sufficientlyto bring it again into `full register with the port of the mainautomatic valve, so that when the `main valve is again actuated by theprimary actuating part the full head of gas will be turned on.

Our invention also relates to improvements in the igniting devices,whereby the ignition rendered more certain and the sparking may becontrolled by the flame, so as to continue until theilame has actedthermostatically upon the sparking points.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevayafter they have been operatedto turn out and ignite the gas. Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the lineA A oi Fig. l. Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively a vertical and horizontalsection ofthe fuel-controlling valve, and Fig. 7 is a section on theline B B of' Fig. 3.

(t is the primary actuating device7 which, as shown, is a two-armedlever pivoted at a to a bracket b, which carries suitable clampingdevices c c', by which it may be clamped in place on the gas-stove, asupon the gas-pipe d. When the bracket is clamped in place, the upper armof the lever a projects above the surface oi the stove, as shown inFig. 1. A springf normally maintains the lever in this position. We haveshown a U-shaped spring coiled about the pivot-pin a and having one endengaging the lever and the other end the bracket but any suitable springmay be employed.

i The lower arm g of the lever a is connected by a rod h with a valve iinthe gas-supply pipe, so that when the lever-arm ais depressed by acooking utensil placed on the stove the lever a is rocked and the valvei is opened to supply the gas to the burner. The valve i is shown as aspindle-valve provided with an arm i, connected with the rod 7L. Thisoperation of the lever e opens the valve 'i fully and turns on the fullhead. of gas to the burner; but Vfrequently the full head of gas is notrequired or desirable, and therefore We provide the valve i with anauxiliary controllingvalve by which the head of gas to the burner may beregulated by hand after the automatic valve 'i has been fully opened.

The spindle-valve 'i is tubular and has the dialnetrically oppositeports 'i2 i2, which register with the thoroughfare in the valve-casingwhen the valve is opened. Within the tubular valve 'i is a valve-plugwhich is iree to turn in the tubular valve i and has a port j normallyregistering with the ports i2 i2. As shown in the drawings, the lowerend of the valve-plug j projects through the tubular IOO valve t andcasing and is secured in place by a nut y'z, and the upper end projectsthrough the top of the valve t and is provided with a handle la. On thecasing m are limit stops or abutments m m', and on the valve t is a pinor lug t3, which makes contact with the stops m mf and limits themovements of the valve i. The handle 7c also makes contact with thesestops m m and limits the movements of the regulating-valve y'.

Normally when the gas is turned off the valves c' and are in theposition shown in Fig. l, with the auxiliary controlling-valve turned sothat its handle k is in contact with the stops m', which also acts asthe stops for the lug 'L' of the valve i. The ports t2, y, and i2 arethen in line with one another, but closed to the gas-thoroughfare, asshown in Fig. 6. When the lever a is rocked by the cooking utensil, thevalve t' is moved into the position shown in Fig. 3, where it isarrested by the other stop m, and as the valve-plug is carried by thevalve i it will also be moved with the valve i. The valve will thenoccupy the position shown in Fig. 3, and as their relation to oneanother has not been changed the passage-way through the ports i2 j i2,which are now in line with the gas-thoroughfare,will be fully opened. Itis apparent that yby turning the plug back the port j may be Aclosed toany extent desired and the supply also be carried back until itsmovement is arrested by the stop m and the valve c' will continue tomove until the lug i3 also strikes the stop m. It follows, therefore,that no matter what the adjustment of the regulatingvalve may have beenthat valve will always be brought back into the same relation with thevalve t when the latter is closed, and consequently when the valve i isautomatically opened the full head of gas will be turned on, which notonly aids the ignition, but also assists the regulation by hand, sincethe cook always starts with a maximum flame, and may then regulate asmuch as may be desired.

lVhile we prefer the valve devices shown for effecting the hand-controlof the gas-supply, we do not mean to limit ourselves to this particularconstruction, as our invention comprehends broadly the combination, withan .automatically-operated main valve controlled by the utensil on thestove to open the gas-supply to the burner, of an Vauxiliaryhand-controlled regulating-valve carried by the main valve to adjust thesupply-passage through the main valve.

Suitable automatic igniting devices are provided for igniting the gaswhen turned on in the manner described, and while any suitable ignitingdevices may be employed With our improved valve devices we have shown aparticular form of igniting devices especially adapted for the purpose.e is a sparkpoint suitably insulated and carried by the bracket l), andn is a second spark-point, also carried by the bracket b andelectrically connected, as through the bracket, with a contact-strip 0,which is arranged to make contact with a pin or contact-point p on thelever-arm g when it is rocked. The contact o and spark-point c are inelectrical circuit with the usual exciting-coil. vWhen the lever-arm gpasses over the surface of the stri 0, an interrupted circuit iscompleted throng the spark-points e and n. With this arrangement it willbe noted that the sparking may be continued for a substantial period anduntil the lever has completed its movement and turned on the full supplyof gas, so that the ignition of the gas is rendered more certain. Thecircuit may be broken by arranging the contact 0 so that the lever atthe end of its movement will pass out of contact with it but we preferto break the circuit by employing a thermostatically-controlledspark-point. For this purpose we have shown the sparkpoint n in the formof a spiral bimetallic strip secured at one end and so arrangedv thatwhen heated by the flame its sparking end will move away from the sparkpoint e and out of sparking proximity. With this construction thelever-arm g may be permitted to remain in contact with the strip o whiledepressed by the cooking utensiland the thermostatic action of theexpansible sparking point may alone be relied upon to break the spark,which will not be effected until after the ignition of thegas.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is asfollows:

1. In an automatic controlling device 'for gas-stoves and the like, thecombination of a bracket having a clamping device for detachableattachment to the stove, a movable primary actuating device carried bysaid bracket and adapted to be actuated by the weight of a vessel placedupon it, a valve to control the Vfuel-supply to the burner,power-transmitting "connections between said valve and movable primaryactuating device, and igniting devices carried by said bracket andcontrolled by the movement of said primary actuating device.

2. ln an automatic controlling device for gas-stoves and the like, thecombination of a movable primary actuating device adapted to be moved bya vessel placed on the stove, valve mechanism to control the fuel-supplyto the burner, power-transmitting connections between said valvemechanism and the primary actuating part arranged to fully open thesupply to the burner through lsaid valve mechanism, and means manuallycontrolled at will to adjust the supply-opening through said valvemechanism and automatically controlled to return said valve mechanism tofull position when the valve passage-way is closed IOO IIO

by said power-transmitting connections with 13o the primary actuatingpart, Whereby said valve mechanism, when again operated by the placingof a vessel on the stove, Will be fully opened irrespective of theprevious adjustment of said means controlled at Will.

3. In an automatic controlling devicefor gas-stoves and the like, thecombination of a movable primary actuating device adapted to be moved bya vessel Vplaced on the stove, a main valve to control the fuel-supplyto the burner, power-transmitting connections between said main valveand primary actu- -ating part, an auxiliary controlling-valve forindependently controlling the fuel-supply when said-main valve isopened, and means ior automatically returning said auxiliarycontrolling-valve to full main valve is closed.

4. In an automatic controlling device for gas-stoves and the like, thecombination oi a movable primary actuating device adapted to be moved byavessel placed on the stove, a main valve to control the fuel-supply tothe burner actuated by said'priinary actuating device to Jully open orclose the valve passage-Way, and an auxiliary hand-controlledcontrolling-valve carried by said main valve and adapted to control itsvalve passage-Way.

5. In an automatic controlling device for gas-stoves and the like, thecombination of a primary actuating device adapted to -be moved byavessel placed on the stove, a main valve to control the fuel-supply tothe burner actuated by said primary actuating device', and an auxiliarycontrolling-valve carried by said main valve and moving With it, butindependently movable with reference to said main valve to control thevalve passage-Way thereof.

6. In an automatic controlling device for gas-stoves and the like, thecombination of a primary actuating device adapted to be moved by avessel placed on the stove, a main valve to control the fuel-supply tothe burner actuated by said primary actuating device, and an auxiliarycontrolling-valve carried by said main valve and moving with it, butindependently movable with reference to said main valve to control thevalve passage-Wa thereof, and means for returning said auxi iarycontrolling-valve to normal full position With reference to said mainvalve when the main valve is actuated.

7. In an automatic controlling device for gas-stoves and the like, thecombination of a primary actuating device adapted to be moved by avessel placed on the stove, a tubular valve i located in the fuehsupplypipe and having a port to control the fuel-supply said valve 'i beingactuated by the primary actuating device, and an auxiliaryindependently-adjustable coiitrolling-valve j carried by said tubularvalve i and having a port nor inally registering With the port of saidvalve i.

S. In an automatic controlling device for position when the gas-stovesand the like, the combination of a primary actuating device adapted tobe moved by a vessel placed on the stove, a tubular valve 'i located inthe fuelsupply pipe and having a port to control the fuel-supply saidvalve i being actuated by the primary actuating device, and an auxiliaryindependentlyadjustable controlling-valve j carried by said tubularvalvei and having a port normally registering with the port of saidvalve c, and means to move said controlling-valve with its port inregister With the poit of the valve i when the latter is moved into openor closed position by the primary actuating device.

. 9. In an automatic controlling device for gas-stoves and the like, thecombination of a primary actuating device adapted to be moved by avessel placed on thelstove, a rotaiy tubular valve 'i located in thefuel-supply pipe and having a port to control the fuelsupply, said valvei being actuated b the primary actuating device, stops to limit themovement of said valve i at open and closed positions, an auxiliaryindependently-adj ustable controllingvalve cari'ied by said tubularvalve i and having a port normally registering with the port ol saidvalve i, and a projection 7c carried by said valve and adapted to strikethe limitstops of the valve i, Whereby said auxiliary controlling-valveWill be au tomatically returned to position With its port registeringWith the port of the valve fi, when said valve is moved into open orclosed position Vby the primary actuating device.

10. In an automatic controlling device for gas-stoves and the like,thecombination of a primary actuating device adapted to be lmoved byavesse] placed on tlie stove, a

valve to control tlie fuel-supply to the burner actuated by said primaryactuating device, and an igniting device arranged adjacent to the burnerand controlled by the primary actuating device, said igniting deviceembracing a thermostatic electric sparking point adapted to move out ofs arking proximity When heated by the flame trom the burner.

l1. In an automatic controlling device for gas-stoves and the like, tliecombination of a primary actuating device adapted to be moved by avessel placed on the stove, a valve to control the fuel-supply to theburner actuated by said primary actuating device, a -pair of sparkingpoints arranged adjacent to the burner and embraced in a normally openelectric circuit, a contact-piece in circuit With the source of electricenergy and one of said points and a contact-piece carried by the primaryactuating device in circuit With the other sparking point.

12. In an4 automatic controlling` device for gas-stoves and the like,the combination of a primary actuating device adapted to be moved by avessel placed on the stove, a valve to control the 'hiel-supply to theburner IOO actuated by'said` primary actuating device, a adapted to moveout of sparking proximity 1o pair of sparking points arranged adjacentto When heated by the flame from the burner.

the burner and embraced in a normally open In testimony of whichinvention We have electric circuit, a contact-piece in circuit Withhereunto set our hands.

the source of electric energy and one of said VILLIAM B. SCHOFIELD.points and a contact-piece carried bythe pri- MILLARD P. OSBOURN. maryactuating device in circuit with the VVitnesses':

other sparking point one of said sparking R. M. KELLY,

points consistingy of a thermostatio strip M. J. EYRE.

